Pushbutton assembly for car radio

ABSTRACT

Pushbutton tuning device with at least one pair of slidable actuating rods alternately actuated by a common pushbutton.

United States Patent 1 8 7 W W 3W3 45 M 3 D 0 NW mm7 WW WW WW9 WW2 WW HO "n m mS m d mm F m 55 [22] Aug. 14, 1969 Patented June 1, 1971 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 11/1968 Pelletier..t....................

Primary ExaminerMilton Kaufman Attorney-Frank R. Trifari U. S. Philips Corporation New York, N.Y.

Aug. 16, 1968 Netherlands [73] Assignee [32] Priority [54] PUSHBUTTON ASSEMBLY FOR CAR RADIO 7 Chums 7 Drawing ABSTRACT: Pushbutton tuning device with at least one pair [52] U.S.Cl.....

74/1033, of slidable actuating rods alternately actuated by a common 334/7 pushbutton.

PAIENIEnJun u'n SHEET 1 BF 2 VA/////& //////////A INVENTOR.

LU CAS W. M. SCHIJVEN PATENIED JUN 1 I97! SHEEI 2 OF 2 INVENTOR.

LUCAS W.M. SCHIJVEN AGE T IPUSIIIBU'ITON ASSEMBLY FOR CAR RADIO If it is desired in a car radio to be able to adjust a comparatively great number of stations, for example, 10, by means of the pushbuttons, the receiver normally has to be provided with the same number of buttons. Particularly in car radio receivers, difficulties arise in finding the desired station, since the selection with the aid of a dial arranged near the buttons or by counting the buttons diverts the attention too much. The invention relates to a pushbutton set particularly for use in a car radio comprising pushbuttons capable of actuating each two driving rods, which in turn drive a tuning mechanism. Such a device is known from US. Pat. No. 3,357,264.

Here the number of buttons is reduced by half so that, for example, for 10 stations five buttons are required. Such a small number of buttons can be surveyed in one glance so that counting of buttons is not necessary; a further advantage is that the smaller number of buttons occupies less space, or that, when the same space is occupied, broader and better surveyable buttons may be employed.

In the device disclosed in US. PaLNo. 3,357,264 the selection between the two driving rods adapted to be actuated by one button is determined by means of a separate selection member; this member has to be actuated prior to the depression of a button, when it is desired to pass from one driving rod to the other, in which case two different actuations are therefore required. An object of the present invention is to provide a device in which this disadvantage is obviated.

The device according to the invention is characterized in that at least two driving rods are alternately actuated by the associated common button with the aid of an alternating mechanism controlled by said button and the associated driving rods.

The invention will be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which FIGS. 1 to 4 show an embodiment in details shown separately, and

FIGS. 5 to 7 illustrate a known device which may advantageously be used in conjunction withthe device shown in FIGS. 1 to 4.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are plan views of a pushbutton mechanism, a plurality of which is usually arrangedside by side on the front side of a radio receiver; the mechanism shown in FIG. 2 is, in fact, arranged beneath that of FIG. 1, but for the sake of clarity it is shown in a separate figure. The device comprises a pushbutton 1, which is fastened to the foremost-in FIG. 1 the lowermost-end of a displaceable button rod 3, for example, of a synthetic resin, which rod is depressibly arranged against the force of a pressure spring 5 in a frame 7. The frame 7 accommodates furthermore two displaceable double metal driving rods 9, 11 and 13, 15, arranged one on each side of the button rod 3, the foremost ends of which are provided with elongated openings or windows 17, 19, 21 and 23 respectively.

The rod 3 has in its preferably widened central portion a broad, shallow transverse groove 25, which may be covered by a lid (not shown for the sake of clarity) and forms a guide channel for a transversely movable-in this case frameshaped-locking bolt 27, serving as a catch. The bolt 27 follows the sliding movement of the button rod 3 and, as will be explained more fully hereinafter, its own lateral movement is controlled so that at each depressionof the button I, a coupling is established between the button rod 3 and alternately one of the two adjacentdouble rods 9, 11 and 13, 15, while prior to each coupling with a rod, the existing coupling with the other driving rod is released so that each time only one of the two driving rods is caught and carried along.

A fitting opening in the bottom of the groove 25 rotatably accommodates a gearwheel shaft 29, for example, of a synthetic resin with two gearwheels 31 and 33 formed thereon (shown separately in FIG. 3 in a perspective view; the shaft 29 is indicated in broken lines in FIGS. 1 and 3). The gearwheel 31, which has three teeth a, b and acts as a pushing gearwheel and is located in the space inside the frame-shaped bolt 27, whereas the gearwheel 33, shown separately in FIG. 2

and having six teeth serves for driving the gearwheel 31 and projects from the button rod 3 on the bottom side. The driving gearwheel 33 is located on the same height as a driving pawl 35, directly located beneath the button rod 3 and pivotally journaled over a small angle in the frame 7 and drawn against the gearwheel 33 by a tensile spring 37.

FIG. 2 shows that the pawl 35 is provided with a dovetailshaped recess 39 located between two lugs 41 and 43, which are adapted to cooperate with the teeth of the pawl gearwheel 33. This cooperation results as is shown by FIG. 2, at the beginning of the depression of the pushbutton 1, that one of the teeth of the gearwheel 33 (which tooth is designated in FIG. 2 by 45) comes into contact with the lug 41, so that the gearwheel 33 is caused to perform a left-hand turn through about 60. This will be obvious from FIG. 2, in which the position 33 of the gearwheel 33 after the initiation of the depression of the button is indicated in broken lines. The driving pawl 35 is then turned slightly to the left (position 35) and is in contact under spring pressure simultaneously with two teeth of the gearwheel 33, which is thus secured to some extent against a further turn.

FIG. I shows that in the position of the button preceding the depression, one of the three teeth of the gearwheel 31, in this case the tooth a, is in contact with a. lug 47 formed on the inner side of the frame-shaped bolt 27. During the turn through about 60, performed by the gearwheel 31 together with the gearwheel 33 during the displacement from the positionindicated in solid lines into the position 33' indicated by broken lines in FIG. 2, the tooth a of the gearwheel 31 pushes the lug 47 to the left so that the bolt 27 performs a combined movement resulting in the position 27 indicated by broken lines in FIG. 1. As will be apparent from FIG. 1, the bolt 27- --which initially projected to the right into the openings 21 and 23 of the right-hand driving rod-projects to-the left into the openings 17 and 19 of the left-hand double-driving rod 9, 11. This position is indicated by solid lines in FIG. 4. It will be obvious that upon further depression of the rod 3 by means of the button 1 the double driving rod 9, 11 is caught and carried along by the bolt 27, so that in the manner to be described more fully with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7 the radio receiver, part of which is formed by the device described, is tuned to a preselected station.

When the pushbutton 1 is released, the rod 3 is set back into the rest position by the spring 5, and this also applies to the double-driving rod 9, 11with the aid a resetting spring not shown for the sake of clarity. When the pawl gearwheel 33 returns into the rest position indicated by solid lines in FIG. 2, two of the six teeth of the gearwheel 33 get into the recess 39, without any change in the rotational position of the gearwheel; the tooth c of the gearwheel 31 then comes into contact (see FIG. 4) with a second lug 49 formed on the inner side of the frame 27, the latter lug being located, viewed from the lug 47, on the opposite side of the shaft 29. From FIGS. 1 and 4 it will be obvious that by this location of the lugs 47 and 49 these lugs alternately contact the teeth of the pushing gearwheel 31 so that upon rotation of this gearwheel invariably in the same direction the bolt 27 is pushed on alternately in opposite directions. When the button 1 is again depressed, the bolt 27 gets into the position shown in FIG. 1 with respect to the button rod 3, while as a matter of course the right-hand double rod 13, 15 is caught along upon further depression of the button rod 11.

FIGS. 5 and 7 show a known tuning device, part of which is formed by the double-driving rod l3, 15 of the preceding figures. The double rod 9, 11 is disposed in a similar device arranged in mirror-symmetrical position and not shown in FIGS. 5 to 7. As is shown by the plan view of FIG. 6, corresponding to the position shown in FIG. 1, the strip-shaped rod 15 supports a circle-segment-shaped adjusting member 5 1 (see also FIG. 5, which shows the device in a side elevation) which is freely rotatable about a short stub shaft 53 formed on the rod 15 and can be fixed in a selected rotational position by means of a U-shaped bracket 55. The ends 57 and 58 thereof, slightly bent over inwardly in hooklike fashion, are passed through fitting slots in the rod 15 so that the foremost end 57 is in contact on the other side with the rod 15 and forms a point of rotation, whereas the remote end 58 is fixed with the aid of the likewise strip-shaped rod 13, which is displaceable with respect to the rod 15, in known manner in a position in which a clamping portion of the bracket 55 engages the rim of the segment-shaped disc 51 with a heavy force. When the driving rod l3, 15 is depressed. the segment-shaped disc 51 operating as an adjusting member, compels a pivotable bascule 59 to occupy a defined position (shown in FIG. by broken lines), while the tuning member of the radio receiver coupled with said bascule is tuned to a preselected station. The preselected of the station is carried out in known manner by drawing forwardly the slide rod 13 with respect to the rod with the aid of the pushbutton I (not shown in FIGS. 5 to 7), so that the disc 5l is released from the clamping bracket 55 (see FIG. 7); after the bascule 59 is previously adjusted to the desired station by means of the tuning knob (not shown), the segment SI, now no longer fixed in rotational position, when be urged against the bascule 59 can occupy the position corresponding herewith, which is maintained after fixation by redepression of the rod I3 and thus permits of reproducing the preselected tuning.

When the button 1 is drawn out in order to obtain the presetting position shown in FIG. 7, the situation shown in broken lines in the lower half of FIG. I is obtained. The frameshaped bolt 27 has then been displaced from the position 27 into the position 27" shown in broken lines and has taken along the slide rod 13 and shifted it relatively to the rod 15, which has stayed in its position, into the position 13" shown in broken lines. (cf. FIG. 7). The driving gearwheel 33, which also has performed the displacement, comes into contact by one of its teeth with the foremost lug 43 of the pawl 35 and is thus turned through about 60 against the direction of the arrow, this turn being of course accurately followed by the pushing gearwheel 31 (position 3|" in FIG. I). When the button is depressed, the position of the gearwheel 33 shown in FIG. 2 by solid lines is first obtained without a turn of said gearwheel and the bolt 27 occupies the position indicated by solid lines in FIG. I, while furthermore the pushing gearwheel 3lwhich like the gearwheel 33 has not turned -still occupies the rotational position 31", shown in broken lines. When the position shown in broken lines in FIG. 5 is reached upon further depression of the button I, in which the segment 51 is in contact with the bascule 59, the cooperation of the driving gearwheel 33 with the hindmost lug 41 results in the manner described above in a turn of the pushing gearwheel 31 in the direction of the arrow from the position 31" indicated by broken lines, into the position 31 indicated by solid lines in FIG. 1, however, without the bolt 27 being displaced transversely.

During the last-mentioned sliding movement of the slide rod 13 the friction between the two rods 13 and 15 causes the latter to be moved, with a certain lead with respect to the slide rod 13, as indicated in FIG. 1 by brace 61. This lead disappears not until the segment 51 has come into contact in the manner shown in broken lines in FIG. 5, with the bascule 59 and has taken over the position thereof and upon a further depression-by which the lead 61 is overcome-the segment is fixed in the attained position by the bracket 55 (see FIG. 6). By the device described it is achieved that, when for example a different station is desired to be preset on the right-hand driving rod l3, 15 after drawing out and redepressing the button, indeed the same driving rod is depressed for the second time in succession by the button, owing to the fact that, in contrast to the normal situation, an automatic mechanical changeover to the other driving rod is not performed.

The button 1 may advantageously have such a large width skin and length in the manner shown in broken lines in FIG. 1 that the foremost ends of the double-driving rods 9, 11 and l3, l5 lie within the contours of the knob and are located in approlpriate channels provided in the button, now integrated wit a large portion ofits rod 3. The driving rods then serve, in

addition, as guides for the button 1, while the remaining hind portion of the button rod 3 need have only a very short length and need serve only as a guide for the spring 5.

As stated above, the pawl 35 provides some safeguard against unwanted turning of the gearwheel 33, when it is located outside the recess 39. If desired, this may be slightly further improved by means of a pawl structure in which the pawl is formed by two parallel beams 35and 63 (the latter shown by broken lines in FIG. 2), between which in the manner indicated by broken lines in the figure the driving gearwheel in the position 33' has just sufficient space to shift freely without being able to turn.

In the figures the bolt 27 is shown mainly for illustrative reasons in the form ofa frame having inwardly projecting lugs. However, for reasons of mechanical rigidity it may be advisable to construct the bolt in the form ofa plate having lugs 47 and 49 projecting on one side thereof, while, as a matter of course, the plate is located directly above the pushing gearwheel 31.

In order to obtain an indication of the driving rod last depressed, a light aperture may be provided above each rod, behind each of which a small, slidable cover plate may be arranged. Each driving rod may then be provided with a lug, which moves away the relevant cover plate against spring force so that a light source arranged behind the aperture becomes visible.

1 claim:

I. A pushbutton assembly suitable for operating the tuning device ofa car radio, comprising:

a frame, at least one pushbutton bar movable axially in the frame, at least one set of drive members alternately drivable by said pushbutton bar, each member adapted to the engaged with the tuning device for tuning same, a displaceable locking bolt on said pushbutton bar engageable with only one of said drive members at a time, and actuator means for moving said bolt alternately to engage one of said two drive members, each time the pushbutton bar is axially depressed.

2. A pushbutton assembly according to claim 1 wherein said drive members are spaced-apart, and said bolt is displaceable laterally relative to the pushbutton bars axis to engate one of said members at a time.

3. A pushbutton assembly according to claim 2 wherein said actuator means comprises a gearwheel rotatable by said actuator means about an axis generally transverse the bar axis, the gearwheel having teeth which engage and displace the bolt when the gear is rotated.

4. A pushbutton assembly according to claim 3, said actuator means further comprising axle means in said bar with said gearwheel being fixed on and rotatable with said axle, and a second gear fixed on and rotatable with said axle, said second gear being rotated when teeth thereof engage pawl means when the pushbutton bar carrying the gears is moved axially.

5. A pushbutton assembly according to claim 4 wherein said second gear has twice as many teeth as has said gearwheel.

6. A pushbutton assembly according to claim 2 wherein said set of drive members is disposed adjacent the pushbutton bar for supporting same.

7. A pushbutton assembly according to claim 2 wherein each of said driving members is formed of two elements, the first being movable relative to the other when the button bar is moved axially outward for releasing said actuator means, said elements being fixedly positioned by means carried by the bar upon depression of said bar. 

1. A pushbutton assembly suitable for operating the tuning device of a car radio, comprising: a frame, at least one pushbutton bar movable axially in the frame, at least one set of drive members alternately drivable by said pushbutton bar, each member adapted to the engaged with the tuning device for tuning same, a displaceable locking bolt on said pushbutton bar engageable with only one of said drive members at a time, and actuator means for moving said bolt alternately to engage one of said two drive members, each time the pushbutton bar is axially depressed.
 2. A pushbutton assembly according to claim 1 wherein said drive members are spaced-apart, and said bolt is displaceable laterally relative to the pushbutton bar''s axis to engate one of said members at a time.
 3. A pushbutton assembly according to claim 2 wherein said actuator meAns comprises a gearwheel rotatable by said actuator means about an axis generally transverse the bar axis, the gearwheel having teeth which engage and displace the bolt when the gear is rotated.
 4. A pushbutton assembly according to claim 3, said actuator means further comprising axle means in said bar with said gearwheel being fixed on and rotatable with said axle, and a second gear fixed on and rotatable with said axle, said second gear being rotated when teeth thereof engage pawl means when the pushbutton bar carrying the gears is moved axially.
 5. A pushbutton assembly according to claim 4 wherein said second gear has twice as many teeth as has said gearwheel.
 6. A pushbutton assembly according to claim 2 wherein said set of drive members is disposed adjacent the pushbutton bar for supporting same.
 7. A pushbutton assembly according to claim 2 wherein each of said driving members is formed of two elements, the first being movable relative to the other when the button bar is moved axially outward for releasing said actuator means, said elements being fixedly positioned by means carried by the bar upon depression of said bar. 